


Trial of a Time Lord

by orphan_account



Series: The Kalkaruan-verse [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Torchwood
Genre: Gen, a few other things, anti-moffat, don't want spoilers, i rated it teen because there is a little violence, i'm entitled to my own opinions, if you love moffat just don't read, no pairings explicitly stated, nothing too bad i don't think, please don't send me hate, some implied, someone gets slapped and kicked a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 21:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1565402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor is put on trial for genocide against the Silence and the Daleks. Slightly AU, but not much</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trial of a Time Lord

**Author's Note:**

> The Doctor and Clara are between Day of the Doctor and Time of the Doctor, River is somewhere after she married the Doctor, but before she was released from Stormcage. Everyone else is from just after Journeys End, because I haven't seen Torchwood (too young) or Sarah Jane adventures (no time).

Trial of a Time Lord

The TARDIS, Somewhere in the Time Vortex

When it happened, it was completely unexpected. One moment Clara was watching the Doctor whirling around the console, the next, four warrior-like aliens had appeared out of nowhere. They were tall and thin, with skin completely black. They had wings that matched their skin, but one of the black ones had a smattering of silver feathers. The Doctor glared at them, “Who gave you the right to barge in here without knocking?” he said, angrily.  
“We have come for you, Destroyer,” hissed the silver-feathered one, “You will stand trial for your crimes.” Without a word two of the other black winged aliens stepped forward and grabbed his arms. He struggled, shouting,  
“What are you doing? You have no right! I’ve done nothing wrong!” The silver winged one nodded to them, and they vanished.  
“Where have you taken him? What are you doing?” asked Clara, scared. The remaining aliens turned to her.  
“We have taken him to stand trial on our world. He has committed terrible crimes, against whole species and individuals. He must face justice. We will require you to come with us, to give evidence, and so we can return you home, when necessary.”  
“Evidence?” Clara was confused, “And who are you?”  
“We are Kalkaruans, of the tribe of Nixtis. We are the warrior tribe on our planet. But do not fear we will not harm you. It is against all our laws and beliefs to harm an innocent. Come with us.”

 

Torchwood Hub, Cardiff, Wales, Earth

Jack started at the strange creatures in front of them. He found it hard to believe that the Doctor could do the things that had been described to him, but regeneration was, as he knew, a complete change, of personality as well as physical aspects.  
“Jack?” Gwen’s voice broke through his thoughts, “You’re not thinking of going with then are you?”  
“Yes,” he replied, “If this is true, I want to know why the Doctor did this.”  
“And if it’s a lie? How will you get back?” Ianto asked.  
“I’ll think of something. But there’s no need for you two to come. No sense in putting us all in danger.”  
“We’re coming,” said Gwen, voicing what they both felt, “We couldn’t let you have all the fun.” Jack grinned at them both and turned to the Kalkaruans.

 

13 Bannerman Road, London, England, Earth

Sarah Jane turned to Luke,  
“Look after the house, tell Rani and Clyde where I’ve gone. K9 will look after me, don’t you worry,”  
“Be careful Mum,” replied Luke, worried, “I don’t want to lose you.”  
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about the Doctor if he really has done all this. I want to have a word with him.” Luke smiled, and Sarah Jane turned to the Kalkaruans, who had appeared so abruptly in the attic.

 

Stormcage Prison  
River Song turned to the Kalkaruans and pulled out her gun,  
“The Silence were evil, they kidnapped and brainwashed me. What he did was right. I will come with you but don’t think for a moment I’m going to help you.” The Kalkaruan nodded, unperturbed. Slowly, in the four places, separated by vast distances in time and space, the four Kalkaruans extended their hands, in what would have been eerie synchronisation had anyone been able to see it.  
“Take my hand,” they said, and across time and space they vanished and appeared together, in one place, one time.

 

Council Clearing, Forest of Nixtis, Kalkarua

Gwen and Ianto stared in amazement at what they saw. The sky was crimson, framed by the silver leaves of the trees. Looking down, they saw that some trees had jet black trunks, and some had a deep blue, slightly darker than TARDIS blue. It was an amazing sight. Even Jack and Sarah Jane, both seasoned travellers had never seen anything quite like it.  
“You should see the forests of Solatna,” commented a Kalkaruan. Gwen jumped in surprise, and saw that this Kalkaruan had pure white skin and wings, and golden hair. Looking around she saw that some white skinned Kalkaruans had white hair, and some gold, and the black skinned ones were the same with black and silver. The Kalkaruan was still talking, “They are similar but the leaves on the trees are golf, with trunks of white and lilac.”  
“How come you speak English?” Ianto asked him curiously.  
“I learnt it,” he replied proudly, “I have spend my whole life studying Terran languages and I speak over 50.”  
“How old are you?” asked Gwen.  
“301, so quite young really. Kalkaruans can live to be 2000 or more. I often wonder how you Terrans get anything done in your lives, you must have to learn so fast.” Gwen was about to reply but the Kalkaruan who had brought them came hurrying over and showed them to their seats.  
“There will be time for talk later. We will tell you much of our culture and history, if you so wish, but now we must begin the trial.” She said, seeming quite agitated. Looking across the clearing, Jack suddenly noticed Sarah Jane and K9 being brought over by another Kalkaruan, a male this time.  
“Sarah Jane!” he exclaimed, surprised, “and K9! I guess you’re here for the same reason as us?”  
“Sadly, yes. I’d like to have a word with this new Doctor,”  
“Have you met this incarnation before?” asked Gwen, curious.  
“Only once and only briefly. He seemed perfectly nice, but I didn’t get much chance to get to know him well,” she sighed heavily. Jack sighed too, hoping against hope that she had been right about this new Doctor. The Kalkaruan near them hushed them, warning them the trial was about to start, and they took their seats at the edge of the clearing and looked towards the centre of the clearing. From the side entered another Kalkaruan, from the tribe of Solatna. This Kalkaruan’s wings were pure gold, and so was his hair. He was followed by two Kalkaruans of the tribe of Nixtis, a young female and an older male. The male had completely black hair and wings, but the female’s were completely silver. Unlike all the others of the tribe of Nixtis that they had seen this Kalkaruan carried only a small dagger as a weapon, but the male had two thin swords crossed in their sheaths across his back. When the one of Solatna reached the centre of the clearing he stopped, the other two a pace behind him, and called out,  
“Bring forward the Destroyer of Worlds!” His words echoed through the tense silence like a gunshot, loud and commanding. From the other side of the clearing came two warriors of Nixtis, holding the Doctor by his arms. He appeared unhurt, but unwilling to follow them. Jack was surprised by how young he was now, he seemed almost childlike, and his eyes did not carry the weight of sadness that the incarnations Jack had met previously seemed to carry. The warriors lead him to halfway between the edge of the clearing and the Elder of Solatna, stopped, and left, leaving him standing alone, seeming almost vulnerable. The female behind the Elder of Solatna stepped forward and spoke to the crowd,  
“Warriors, healers, and elders of Nixtis, scholars and elders of Solatna, visitors from Earth, we are here today to witness the trial of a Time Lord, the Doctor, Destroyer of Worlds, Bringer of Darkness, the Oncoming Storm. His crimes are genocide against the Silence, and the Daleks,” so saying she stepped back to her previous position and the male warrior stepped forwards,  
“How do you defend your actions, Destroyer?” he demanded.  
“The Daleks are evil.” The Doctor stated, sure in his place. But the Kalkaruans had spent years gathering evidence, gathering arguments, and this was precisely what they had expected him to say. For an answer the Elder of Solatna raised his hand. Above it appeared an image, from the memory of the Doctor himself, holding two wires in his hands, a young Sarah Jane looking on. Their voices echoed across the clearing,  
“Sarah Jane: Well, what are you waiting for?!  
The Doctor: Just touch these two strands together, and the Daleks are finished... Have I that right?  
Sarah Jane: To destroy the Daleks? You can't doubt it!  
The Doctor: Well, I do! You see, some things could be better with the Daleks. Many future worlds will become allies because of the fear of the Daleks!  
Sarah Jane: It isn't like that!  
The Doctor: Well, the final responsibility is mine. And mine alone. You see, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives... could you then kill that child?  
Sarah Jane: [pause] We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You must destroy them! You must complete your mission for the Time Lords!  
The Doctor: Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other, and it's it? The Daleks cease to exist? Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations, can live without fear, in peace, and never even know the word "Dalek"?  
Sarah Jane: Then why wait? If it was a disease or some sort of bacteria you were destroying, you wouldn't even hesitate!  
The Doctor: But if I kill, wipe out a whole intelligent life form, then I'd become like them. I'd be no better than the Daleks.  
Sarah Jane: Think of all the suffering there'll be if you don't do it!  
” The Elder lowered his hand and the image faded.  
“All those years ago you had the chance to stop that evil for ever but you didn’t. Because you knew you did not have the right. Had you done what you should have and destroyed both the Daleks and Gallifrey we would have forgiven, but since by your actions you endangered the entire universe, but did not think twice about killing the Daleks, we cannot forgive, we cannot forget. What do you have to defend yourself?”  
“What about the children on Gallifrey? Would you have me kill them all?”  
“What of the children of all other species which were threatened with the threat to the universe? Billions of times more children were threatened than would have died on Gallifrey. And as for the Time Lords themselves, in your own words,” raising his hand again, another scene appeared, with a different voice to before, saying,  
“In all my travelling throughout the universe, I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed here. The oldest civilization: decadent, degenerate, and rotten to the core. Power-mad conspirators, Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen - they're still in the nursery compared to us. Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt.”  
“And when you sent the Time Lords back into the war, when they tried to escape the Timelock,” A different scene, the gate, the Time Lords on one side, the Doctor and the Master on the other,  
“You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born. But if the Timelock's broken, then everything's coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. The War turned into hell. And that's what you've opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending.”  
“That is what you nearly unleashed on the universe, with your arrogance, and your thoughtless-ness. Think on that, Destroyer.”  
“And the Silence?” demanded the female, “How do you defend their slaughter?”  
“They kidnapped my wife, my best friends’ daughter and brainwashed her to kill me. They also kidnapped one of my best friends.”  
“The Silence that did these things deserved death, yes. But, as you said before, think of the children. The innocent Silence. For there were innocents. Many, many, innocents. Only a hundred Silence were renegades, out of the six and a half billion that were alive, before you did that. I went to Terra mere days after you did this and see what I saw!” With this she raised her hand. Terrible images appeared above her, a human man, smashing a baby Silent against a wall, a woman beating a young Silent to death with a rolling pin, and many other images of the deaths of Silent children.  
“And if that does not move you to regret, see what the renegade Silence did to those who attacked them!” This time it was human children dying, killed by renegade Silence, now human adults. Then suddenly, it froze on one image, a young human girl, no more than twelve, sitting, crying in a pool of blood.  
“Yes, Doctor, some humans are immune to the memory technique the Silence use. Think on that! One in a thousand can remember, seven million humans, who know that they are murderers, four million of them under the age of fifteen. Think on that.” This she declared with anger and hatred, hatred of the Doctor. "And if you think that they could just leave, remember this: humans will become one of the most wide-spread races in the galaxy, and it will be first contact procedure to show the moon landing. There will be no where for them to run, no where for them to hide. The Silence will be destroyed, wherever they go." Sarah Jane stared at the images until they faded, though it was still imprinted on her mind. She found it almost impossible to believe that the man who couldn’t bring himself to destroy one of the most evil races in the universe could do that to a race which, according to the Kalkaruans, was mostly innocent. The Doctor looked shocked,  
“I never knew they would remember,” he said, quietly, so Sarah Jane barely caught the sound. Her eyes widened, as she took in his meaning. He still didn’t care about the Silence that were slaughtered, only the humans.  
“I thought they would all forget. It seemed like the perfect solution.” Sarah Jane looked up quickly, as a woman with a mass of blonde curls stood up, at the other side of the clearing. The Kalkaruans beside her looked startled but let her run across to the Doctor. She glared at him for a moment, the slapped him hard across the face, splitting his lip, and then kicked him in the balls as hard as she could. Nobody moved to stop her, as she crouched down and whispered something in her ear, her eyes full of disgust. He looked at her, eyes wide and said, loud enough for Sarah Jane to just about hear,  
“I did it for you,” River Song glared at him before replying,  
“I never asked you to murder for me. You are not my husband.” And with that she stalked off, back to her seat. The Elder looked at the female beside him questioningly, and she shook her head. He sighed.  
“The trial will now pause for an hour, to allow us to reach a decision. I ask our guests to not stray into the forest unaccompanied, they can be dangerous for the untrained.” He turned and headed to the edge of the clearing, where most of the Kalkaruans were heading. The remaining ones came over to the humans, including the female who had been standing behind the Elder.  
“What was he asking you?” Gwen asked her curiously.  
“I am a healer,” she explained, “He wanted to know if I wished to help him. I did not. I saw the slaughter of the Silence with my own eyes, and though I tried to help, I could only save a few.” Clara had been standing in the background silently for the whole time, and Sarah Jane now turned to her,  
“What’s your name?” she asked.  
“Clara Oswald,” she replied, “I travel, travelled, with him. I never knew about the Silence, but the Daleks, I persuaded him not to destroy Gallifrey. Does that make me a bad person?”  
“No,” said Sarah Jane gently, “You didn’t know anything about the Time Lords, only his regret. You thought you were doing the right thing, in a situation where there was no right thing to do, only a bad thing, and a worse thing. Don’t blame yourself.” She gave her a hug.  
Meanwhile Jack and Ianto were discussing the differences between Kalkaruan and Human culture and lives with a male of Solatna, called Tam, and the female healer of Nixtis, called Katzarina.  
“Kalkaruans live to be around 2000 mostly, unless we die of disease or battle wounds. But the healers are so skilled now that rarely happens.” Tam was saying.  
“Tam, flattery will get you nowhere,” said Katzarina, with a smile that made Jack think this was a regular occurrence.  
“Always worth a try.”  
‘Yep,’ thought Jack, ‘Definitely done this a lot,’ He smiled slightly, ‘They would so suit each other,’  
“Also, unlike humans, Kalkaruans only mate with our life-mate, not just anyone who gives us a smile, or flashes some leg. We do have temporary-mates, usually shortened to tem-mate, otherwise it would be hard to choose a life-mate, but we don’t mate with them.”  
“Humans used to do that. Some still do, it just depends on the person. Most don’t,” explained Ianto, “So, either of you have tem-mates?”  
“No,” said Katzarina quickly, too quickly. Jack frowned slightly but didn’t push it. If she didn’t want to tell them that was her business.  
“Do you get homosexual Kalkaruans?” He asked instead.  
“Yes,” replied Tam, “And bi- and pansexual too. It is accepted as normal, as indeed it is. Over 450 species on Terra have been recorded as having homosexual tendencies, and only Terrans have been practicing homophobia.” He sighed.  
"How come you speak English?" Jack asked, curious.  
"Telepathy," Tam said, "Normally we don't speak, we communicate via our thoughts, sending feelings and images instead of words. I was the first to learn you language, and I shared the knowledge with everyone else,"  
“How does your social hierarchy, as it were, work?” asked Ianto.  
“Within the two tribes, there are different jobs split, the tribe of Nixtix are warriors, healers, and hunters and the tribe of Solatna provide scholars, farmers, and other, more peaceful occupations.”  
“How is healing not considered a peaceful occupation?”  
“Battlefield healing,” replied Katzarina simply, “Teleporting right where the fighting is thickest, and then getting out with the injured. It’s not a coward’s job. And healers are expected to hunt with the warriors. I can use a bow and arrows better than most warriors.”  
“So how come you were on Earth when the Silence fell? It doesn’t seem like a useful place to keep a healer,” commented Jack.  
“I was looking after two scholars who had been injured while on Earth doing some research. We had to stay for nearly three of your weeks, and I saw many Silence fall to Terrans, who just didn’t know what they were doing. I was in a city. I think it was called Cardiff.”  
“That’s where we live,” said Ianto, surprised, “How come we didn’t notice you? Not many aliens get past us.”  
“We were lying low, and I had a glamour for when I needed to go out, which wasn’t much. I brought most of my supplies with me from Kalkarua. Terran herbs are mostly completely useless,” Suddenly, they could hear the sound of a bell tolling. “That’s the call to return. The Elders must have decided on a punishment, come on!” They hurried back to their places, as the Elders stood themselves in a line across the clearing, and with the Doctor stood in front of them. One of the elders of Nixtis spoke,  
“Destroyer of Worlds, we have decided on your punishment. We will strip all of your remaining regenerations from you. When you die, it shall be your true death.” As one, they raised their hands and pointed at him. A cloud of regeneration energy flowed from him, and swirled around the clearing, before dissipating slowly into the evening gloom. The Doctor shuddered slightly, then collapsed, unconscious, on the floor.  
Later, when the Humans had been shown to wood huts where they were to stay the night, they all sat and got to know each other’s stories, how they had met the Doctor, what he had been like, what he had meant to them. River was subdued, not even mustering the energy to return Jack’s flirting. In the end Jack was sensitive enough to leave her alone. Later, when they had all gone to bed, Gwen, who was next to her, heard her crying quietly.  
The next morning Katzarina and Tam brought them some meat and a rice-like grain for breakfast, and then they came outside to say goodbye. Clara and the Doctor were taken back to the TARDIS, although Clara wasn’t sure she wanted to travel with him anymore, she went, reasoning that she could ask him to take her home when she was sure. River surprised them all by saying that she wanted to stay on Kalkarua, and seeing as there was actually no reason for her to go back to Stormcage, they agreed, and she joined the warriors of Nixtis. Sarah Jane and K9 were taken back to Bannerman Road, where Luke, Rani and Clyde were anxiously waiting, and Jack, Ianto and Gwen were taken back to the Torchwood hub, but not after making the Kalkaruans promise to visit next time they were on Earth. Just before they left Jack stepped forwards and whispered in Katzarina’s ear,  
“Tell them. They will be proud.” She looked at him, startled that he’d noticed, and he winked.

**Author's Note:**

> I will hopefully write more in the Kalkaruan-verse, any questions about them, just ask


End file.
